Ten Years
by Zadien
Summary: A simple one-shot to celebrate 10 years of Amber and Kai. Amber wants to leave work early to celebrate 72 hours of uninterrupted Kai-time but before that happens, she needs to get out of work. Luckily Kai is always on hand to get her out of awkward situations. 'She leaned her head back against the headrest and laughed. "Ah, you are incredibly wise. That's why I keep you around."'


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade - I do own Amber Benson.

* * *

_Ten Years_

Fridays were the longest workdays ever. Amber could never get people to leave the shop fast enough when she had to close up, but tonight there were still costumers lingering in the aisles, flicking through the latest game releases, perusing the new consoles or browsing through the second hand deals. She rubbed her aching neck and lifted her mug of tea from below the counter as she glanced up at the Zelda clock in the corner. Still ten minutes to go before closing time and, oh joy, more people. Didn't people have homes to return to? Maybe food to eat? No, no, of course they didn't.

Her eyes rolled as she caught sight of a figure marching up to the counter, a large shell like bag on his back that was too big for him, and a scruffy anorak that had ridden up to wrap around his throat.

"Hey, Ian."

"Has the new Grand Theft Auto game come in yet?"

"Ian, I told you. It's not released yet."

"So when is it released?"

She bit her tongue and scowled down at the irksome teenager. He was in the shop every weekday, after school, complaining about their 'shoddy service', and at the weekends, he was pushing CV's at them so they'd hire 'someone who knew something about games'. Puh-lease, Amber Benson grew up playing games. They kept her sane. She knew the score.

"Amber, do you need help?"

Someone who did not know games was her manager, Wyatt Smith. He was good with the customers, had unending patience for them, but half the time he was asking her to translate what the customer said. Nah-root-oh? Yeah, the long distance cousin of Yu-Gi-Oh, liked to play with summons and ninja weapons. Idiot.

"I'm fine, Wyatt."

"You look stressed, you can go –"

"Still fine, Wyatt." Because she was fine, so fine, and she was not staying here any longer than necessary. If he got her into that office room, he'd corner her, and then spend an hour talking to her about the state of the economy. Amber did not care. All she wanted was her wages, and her Kai. That was it, and with the long Bank Holiday weekend approaching, she so definitely wanted her Kai.

"Hey, I was here first," Ian snapped at Wyatt, like a miniature Bulldog.

"Ian, I told you, I'll call you when it comes in. Have you even looked on the Internet? It's not due out yet."

"It was supposed to come out this month sometime."

"That was the rumour _last year_. It was announced for later this year." Ian would argue a black crow white if he got a good rhythm going. "Look, it's a Friday night; go home, call up a girl, live a little."

The kid's face burned red as his expression darkened. "Girls are annoying."

"Play Halo then."

"I don't like it. The new reboot probably sucks."

"So you didn't even try it? How do you…" She sucked in a calming breath and glanced at the clock. "Ian, it's almost six. I have 72 hours of non-gaming life to live with my boyfriend; I do not want to be having a debate with you about games you have not even bothered trying. Here," she reached under the counter, "take this and play it for the next 72 hours, and then come back and tell me that the reboot sucks, okay?"

Ian took the game in his calloused fingers and turned it gingerly, his eyes lifting to hers before dropping. "Oh. Okay, I can do that." He quickly squirrelled the game away into his backpack.

"You might also think of clearing that bag out. It looks like it weighs a ton."

He jerked his shoulders as much as he could under the burden. "Yeah. See your boss?"

She glanced over at Wyatt who was alphabetizing the stock. "Too much for my liking, yeah." As if hearing her, he looked up and smiled at her. She averted her gaze and huffed out a breath, fixing the hem on her store emblazoned t-shirt.

"He has a crush on you."

Her upper lip curled in distaste. "Great. Just what I need."

Ian bobbed his head as if he considered his duty done, and then swinging around – so fast the bag nearly caught on the magazine stand –, he shuffled out of the shop. She watched him go and picked up her mug of tea, cradling it in the palm of her hand before she took a sip. Cool milk, flavoured with tea, sloshed in her mouth, and she grimaced. Yep, she needed another mug.

* * *

She had just returned to the front of the shop when she noticed that the security door had been rolled down seventy-five percent, and the lights in the shop had dimmed. The counter had been cleared, and the till lay open, empty. She set her tea down, after taking another mouthful, and checked under the tray in the drawer. A piece of paper noted the Float tally for the people working the morning shift. She knew Wyatt would take the earnings to the night safe with him, while the float, placed in a baggy, was locked in the middle drawer of their filing cabinet.

Closing the till, Amber sipped her tea, and read another one of Wyatt's little sticky-notes. **Clean down the shelves, restock the magazines, stocktake**… she rolled her eyes and put the paper down face first. It wasn't like Tyson hadn't worked the morning shift before; he knew what had to be done.

She finished off her final chores and headed into the staff area in the back. She sloshed the rest of her second cup of cold tea into the sink and began to wash up. Music filtered out of the speakers situated in corners of the store – not the kind of indy punk or pop she or some of the boys would listen to while working – no, Wyatt like piano music and instrumentals. It wasn't exactly a popular choice with the customers.

"Oh hey, Amber, how did work go today?"

Amber slowly set her mug down, and continued to run water into the sink so she wouldn't have to turn around. "It went good… you were there."

"Well, I find it's always good to get an idea of how the employee thought the day went."

Water splattered onto her dark t-shirt and she grunted. "The employee thought it went grand. Long, but grand."

"Yes, yes, it did seem long. I suppose that's because of the long weekend."

"Aye, that would be it," Amber muttered, turning off the tap because she was just wasting water. She picked up the kettle and emptied it into the sink before placing it back on its base.

"So do you have plans for this weekend?"

This didn't strike her as friendly conversation, certainly not the type she enjoyed with her other co-workers. Wyatt just put her on edge. He asked her invasive questions, texted her about odd things that weren't work related, and generally made her skin crawl even though he was perfectly pleasant. "Actually, yeah, I have plans with my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, boyfriend."

"You- uh, you never mentioned one before."

She began drying her mug and turned to lean her jean-clad backside against the counter. Her brows furrowed as she hooked a strand of black hair away from her mouth. "I'm pretty sure I did, Wyatt. Kai and I've been together ten years now." Kai would argue that, but that was the basis of their relationship; fond or heated bickering, that led to making out and/or sex.

Wyatt looked sheepish; his hands tucked into his black slack pockets, white button down open at the collar, his brown hair flopping into hazel eyes as he looked at her. "Amber, come on, you can't say you haven't noticed this thing we ha–"

"Whoa, let me stop you there." She punctuated the sentence by slapping her cup on the counter. "I have a boyfriend. I am happy with him. I have in no way been flirting with you."

"You never mentioned him."

"He's in my Facebook profile picture!" Kai had cursed her up and down for putting that picture on Facebook, but it was there for the world to see; he was hers.

Wyatt smirked and then chortled a little. "Him?"

"Yeah, him."

His head tilted and his lips quirked with sympathy. "Amber."

Was it really that hard to believe? Yes, Kai was ruggedly handsome and made her toes curl, and to most, he probably looked out of her league, but her personality and sheer awesomeness was just as attractive as his physical looks. Besides, even if she wasn't dating Kai, she would not ever in any way date a guy who looked at her like she was a little child playing make believe, or who talked down to her. Ever. "I have to go now."

She grabbed her jacket and patted her pocket to make sure her phone was secure.

"No, wait, please come on. We'll just talk. We're friends."

"No, we're not. We're co-workers and you are crossing a co-worker line right –"

"What's going on here?"

Little Ambers exploded in her head screaming: 'Yay, Kai's here'. Naturally, adult Amber was more mature, so she simply swung her head up and smiled. "Yay, Kai's here!" She rounded on Wyatt and smirked, pointing a thumb at her gorgeous man-hunk. "Boyfriend."

Wyatt's face lost a little colour, and he swallowed thickly. Amber's fluttering emotions settled inside as she stepped closer to Kai. If she left quickly, she could get home in time to convince Kai to take her somewhere nice for food. The idea of cooking was just nauseating. The silence in the room finally penetrated her busy mind, and she rocked back on her heels, before turning to take in the two men. Kai was leaning against the entrance, arms folded so that his black t-shirt stretched over his shoulders and chest, and his jean-clad legs were braced apart as he studied Wyatt – ohhh.

She needed to diffuse the, well Kai's testosterone, because Wyatt wasn't looking too well. Maybe he was suffocating on it. She sucked in a breath; fairly certain she could smell Kai's aftershave, even though he was on the other side of the room from her.

"Uh, yeah, so Kai this is Wyatt, my –" nothing, she was not claiming Wyatt in any way, especially not with the cool look Kai was giving her. "He's the manager. Wyatt, this is Kai."

Wyatt chuckled faintly. "Ah, nice to meet you Kai…"

Kai ignored his stretched out hand, continuing to watch her instead, and she knew, she just knew he was planning dark and violent things to do to Wyatt in his head. Better to get him out and away from Wyatt Twerp while she still could. She shrugged on her jacket, smiling when Kai came out of his funk to help her. He ran a finger over the nape of her neck as he fixed her collar.

"So, you're Amber's boyfriend? What do you do?" Wyatt asked, faintly sneering at Kai's clothes.

Well, Amber mused, she had tried to save Wyatt, but Wyatt was an idiot.

Kai's brow lifted as he turned her to face him. _Is he serious?_

She sighed, running her hands up his chest and lifting them away to clench them at her sides. _A bit on the thick side, go easy._

_A friend?_

She snorted and turned away from him, he was so distracting. "Kai's the owner of a contracting firm in town."

"Oh, a builder."

Amber's eyes closed against the massacre that would happen in front of her. She was not going to be a witness against Kai in a murder charge, especially when really, putting Wyatt out of his misery would be for the best. Her head fell back against Kai's chest, and her fingers tangled with his at the base of her back.

"Amber didn't tell me she had a boyfriend."

Oh, he did not just throw her to the wolves like that. Shocked, Amber opened her eyes and stared at the man with his chest puffed out like an irate rooster. "Wyatt, _everyone_ knew. It's on my Facebook, I mention him at least twice a day; I have a Claddagh ring on my ring finger! Jesus man, it's not my fault you're so cloth eared you _mmph mm mmph mm mmph_!" She angled her head to glower up at Kai, tempted to bite him.

"Let's go," Kai suggested, removing his hand to cup her shoulders.

"I don't believe you're dating," Wyatt muttered with a shake of his head, sitting down in one of the leather lounge chairs they had for when staff needed a break. There was a console hooked up to the large widescreen TV in front of him, and his foot was sitting on one of the controllers. Amber sighed. Wyatt needed to get a new job – his words penetrated her mind.

"What, you want me to prove it?"

Kai ran a hand down her arm. "Let's go, Ember."

"Her name is Amber."

Amber blinked and her lips parted in confusion. It was like an alternate reality happening right before her eyes. Did Wyatt really correct Kai's nickname for her? She was just going to leave before this got even weirder, like Star Trek weird.

She glanced at the roster to check her hours for next week – even though they were saved on her phone – and then paused.

Kai's silence was speaking volumes behind her, and the heat radiating off him made her skin shiver.

"Goodnight, Wyatt," she grunted, stepping away from Kai to sling her messenger bag over her shoulder.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Kai was following her through the shop. She pushed up the protective grating and stepped outside into the cool evening air. Kai exited after her and pulled the shutter down.

He waited for them to cross the road and turn onto another street before he spoke. "What was that about?"

She leaned into him, slipping her arm around his waist, sneaking it under his jacket so that she could feel the play of muscles as he moved. "What did it look like?"

"You looked like you were about to leap to the ceiling, like a frightened cat."

"I don't look like a cat," she grumbled, though the description seemed apt enough. "He was being weird."

"Weird?"

"He might have been trying to ask me out – which I don't get because I haven't been secretive about you. I brought you to a work social once." The next time she'd asked, he'd emphatically said he had plans. Game geeks and Kai just didn't mesh, but it meant that when she went home to him and cuddled up in bed, stole the warmth from his legs to heat her feet, she could just relax and clear her mind. No games, no complaints, just Kai and her time where she could complain about other aspects of life and he could grunt about work – which to Kai was the same as ranting and throwing things.

"Was he there?"

"I don't know, if he was I didn't notice but Brooklyn, Mystel, Salima and Tyson know about you. If he'd asked about me, they would have told him. Heck, you're on my Facebook profile picture."

"Ember, I was on that even before we started dating."

"Well, yes, but seriously, you make me look good."

"Wasn't that first one taken by your grandmother, and involved you biting my cheek after?"

"Yes, but you called me… something, and biting your cheek was a sign of affection."

"Or hunger."

"Or hunger." She snickered, and then sighed happily, scratching his side so that he squirmed away because her darling Kai-pai was ticklish and she loved to take advantage of that.

He huffed out a curse and tapped her nose. "Ember, stop."

"Aww, so as I was saying, I told him I wasn't interested and then you came in."

"He tried to belittle me."

"You should have loomed over him. You do good looming. He would have wet him– actually, yeah, you were right to not loom. That office area isn't the most ventilated of places. Have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Not verbally, there was a voice mail and a text message."

Amber pressed her lips together as she watched the flush creep up his neck above the collar of his t-shirt and into the close-cut crop of navy hair at the top. "You'd be grouchy if you didn't get them. You know, this whole matter would be sorted if you'd…" She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger.

Kai laced his hands behind his head and blew out a breath, tilting his head to look at her. "Really, we're going to talk about this in the street?"

"The car is right there," she pointed to Kai's 4x4 parked beside the pavement, "though I'm hungry."

Catching her hand, Kai brought it to his lips. She shivered and squeezed his fingers lightly. She wasn't too fussed about the ring thing, really. She was only twenty-five and she didn't plan for domestic motherhood anytime soon. Amber still had her MA in Communications to get, and Kai was still securing his job, having branched out on his own just over a year ago. But, just because she was happy as things were, didn't mean that she didn't enjoy teasing Kai about engagement rings just to see the tips of his ears go red, or the way his lips would part then firmly press together when he caught the glint of mirth in her eyes. Heck, she'd probably faint if he did propose, or scramble away before crawling close to look at the ring – much as she had the time he'd given her the Claddagh ring.

Still, she wanted people to know that Kai was hers and she was Kai's. It would save any repeat performances of guys like Wyatt who thought that, just because she talked to him, she was obviously ready to lie down and declare undying infatuation. She paused to consider that. Had she done that to Kai yet?

"Ember, the car is here."

Amber blinked and shook her head, looking around. She'd walked past the jeep. Hmm, she decided as she walked back to the car, she could try that tonight. It would be hilarious.

She climbed into the jeep, and pulled the tie out of her hair so that it fell around her face.

In her mind, she could already see those mahogany eyes widening at her declaration before they would darken and then he'd be on her. She tapped her feet together and rolled her shoulders in a delicious little shudder.

Kai paused in the midst of starting the engine to look at her sharply. "What did you just think about?"

She tossed her bag into the back and smiled brightly. "Nothing."

His eyes hooded and he let go of the keys to slide closer, the heat of his body igniting hers. "What did you just think about Ember?"

"Nothing."

"I know that little move."

Huffing out a laugh, she widened her eyes, taking in the flecks of red in his dark brown eyes. "What little move?"

"The foot clapping and the shake," he breathed against her lips.

She pressed forward and crushed her lips against his, swiped her tongue over them, then quickly drew back. "Public place Kai, control yourself."

The expressive look he sent her was dark and promising, and made her give a quick little squirm of excitement. His groan had her chuckling and turning her face to look out the window. He squeezed her thigh in retaliation before he started the engine and pulled away. In the reflection on the glass, she could see the way he focused on the road and the sure way his hands moved the wheel, and she hugged herself knowing where those hands would be later.

"Ember."

"If I were married, I'd have gotten over the whole sex thing," she told him imperiously, watching the curve of his lips deepen with amusement.

"Why do you think I don't ask?"

She leaned her head back against the headrest and laughed. "Ah, you are incredibly wise. That's why I keep you around. You've got the good ideas, I'm the one to execute them."

"Well then I have a few ideas I'd like you to execute."

She slanted him a look. "I'm not doing anything while you're driving. I want my last meal first."

He chuckled and brought her knuckles to his lips again. As he released her hand so that she could rub her thumb over the tingling flesh, her phone abruptly bleeped. She swore and picked it up, fearing that Wyatt would have changed her hours to be spiteful. If he did, she was quitting. She had 72 hours of non-stop Kai to look forward too and no one would spoil that.

She frowned at the screen.

"What is it?" Kai wondered. "Anything important?"

"Just a reminder of an old friend's tenth anniversary. I'll send them a message later," she turned her head to look at him, tracing his profile as he came to a stop at a junction. "You know, this time next year Facebook could be sending out alerts for our anniversary.'

"We've been together five years."

"Ten."

"Seven."

She sent him a dark look as she tossed her phone into the backseat. "Oh my god, we are not discussing this. Ten years, Kai. We decided this. I can make it longer."

"Be logical, we have not been together ten years."

"We've known each other ten years."

"Not the same thing in the slightest."

"For me and you, that's totally the same thing. No, you cannot kiss me to shut me – _mmm_! Watch the road, you'll _mmm_! Prick."

"You're such a pain in the ass."

"Love you too." She nipped his lower lip, easing back into her seat as another car drove up behind them. "It's still ten years though."

She felt Kai roll his eyes as he leaned over to squeeze her nape. She curved back into the seat, eyes slumberous as she mused over her plans for the next 72 hours of uninterrupted Kai-time. She plucked up her phone and composed her message, glancing at Kai with a content smile: **Here's to the next ten years, from Amber and Kai**.

* * *

_Finis_

* * *

Author's Note: So while rereading SLTS and taking notes (I am planning on finishing it) I realised that as of the 24th of April, I have been on this site ten years. More importantly, Kai and Amber have been together ten years. TEN YEARS! So of course I had to do something for them. I also figured it would be a nice test to see how many people are still actually interested in this couple.

Thank you for taking the time to read and please review.


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